Loving Pepper
by samibrown98
Summary: What happens when Tony and Pepper first see each other after Tony almost dies in New York.
1. Chapter 1

The elevator ride seemed to take forever. Would Pepper be mad? What would he say? He wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans. The elevator slowed to a stop. The doors glided open to reveal an enormous room. Pepper was sitting on the couch with her back to him. Tony cleared his throat. With a little jump, Pepper spun around. She stood up swiftly and stared at Tony. He walked into the room towards Pepper. Pepper soon realized what was happening and hurried around the couch to Tony. Tears were starting to well in her eyes. She threw her arms around his neck. Shocked, Tony paused for a second and then grasped her around the waist and pulled her in tight. They embraced for what felt like hours until finally Pepper whispered in his ear.

"Do you know how I felt when I thought you were dead?"

"Erm, no." Tony muttered.

"I thought I lost you"

"I tried to call you."

"You were on the TV, I had to see what was happening."

Pepper broke away. She led them both to the long white couch and sat Tony down.

"I wanted to talk to you." he explained."

"I'm sorry," Pepper paused. "What would you have said to me?"

"I would've thanked you. For taking care of me all these years. For putting up with me. I would've told you I couldn't have done it without you. I would be broke without you. Nobody else would've been able to do it either." Tony looked away. He took Pepper's hands in his before continuing. "I would be nothing without you. I would've told you that I love you. I've always loved you. You are perfect in every way. I also would've told you that you can accomplish so much without me. That you can go off and find a much better job. That you are the smartest woman I know. I would've also told you that you can find a much better man than me. Someone who is loyal and caring and who loves you very much."

Pepper was crying now. Tears streamed down her face. Tony had never seen her like this. She was such a strong woman.

Tony moved in towards her. He put her arm around her and pulled her face into his chest. He held her there, stroking her hair. Just holding her.

"Tony, I- I don't know what to say." said Pepper after a while.

"It's fine sweetheart. You don't have to say anything."

Tony held her in his arms until she stopped crying and then until she fell asleep. He reached over her and gently pulled a blanket over the two of them. He leaned his head back with his precious Pepper in his arms and quickly dozed off.


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper awoke to the smell of bacon and pancakes. She slowly sat up and stretched out. It was a beautiful summer day in New York. She stood up and turned to the kitchen, where Tony and JARVIS were making breakfast. Well, JARVIS was. Tony was trying to help. He smiled when he saw Pepper. He wiped his hands on his pants and walked out of the kitchen to give her a big kiss. Pepper smiled. He tasted like coffee and toothpaste.

"Good morning, dear." she said in a hushed voice.

"I wanted to make you breakfast, to apologize for almost dying."

Pepper laughed and took a seat at the table a few feet away. Tony quickly brought her a steaming cup of coffee.

"Breakfast is almost ready." he said.

In a few minutes, Tony confidently brought over a plate stacked high with pancakes. JARVIS placed a bottle of maple syrup beside it, followed by a side-plate of bacon.

Pepper ate quickly. Tony sat across from her, watching her.

"Stop looking at me like that!" complained Pepper with a smile on her face.

"I just want to make sure you like it."

Pepper rolled her eyes.

After breakfast, Tony informed Pepper that he had an exciting day planned and that she needed to get ready. Pepper went to the bedroom to get dressed. She put on a blue sundress and white flats. She hurriedly brushed her teeth and hair and put on a little makeup. As she emerged from the room, Tony was waiting for her. She walked towards him and smiled as he grabbed her hand and they went down the elevator together.

Outside, a limo was waiting for the two of them.

"Tony-" Pepper started.

"Don't say a word!" Tony interrupted.

"But-" she tried

"Nope!"

"I just-"

"It's a secret!"

Frustrated, Pepper gave up. Tony opened the door for her as she climbed in. He followed her in and sat down in the long car. They were very used to riding in limos. Almost the whole trip, they didn't speak. They simply watched the world go by and held hands. Near the end of the car ride, Pepper broke the silence.

"What exactly are we doing?" she questioned.

"It's a secret, I told you." Tony replied.

Pepper sighed. About five minutes later, the limousine pulled to a stop in front of Central Park. Tony got out first, reaching in and grabbing Pepper's small hand to help her out. She smiled a thank you and looked around.

"Central Park?" she asked. Tony wasn't a huge fan of public places or people.

"I know you love it here."

Pepper blushed. Tony grabbed her hand and led her down one of the many winding paths in Manhattan's biggest green space.

For the rest of the day, Tony and Pepper were inseparable. They bought matching souvenir t-shirts, sailed a remote-control boat, ate hot-dogs, and they even posed for some photos with fans, but not once did Tony let go of Pepper's hand.

Pepper tried to think of a time she had ever seen Tony so happy, but couldn't. His face just lit up when he looked at her. Tony looked at Pepper in a way he'd never looked at anybody before. When he laughed, he would bite his bottom lip and his eyes wrinkled at the corners in a way that drove Pepper crazy. When he was being sincere, he would stare deeply into her crystal blue eyes and speak from the heart. When he kissed her, he would put a hand on her cheek to bring her lips to his, kissing her ever so gently. He treated her as if she were worth millions of dollars. And to him, she was worth more than that. Sure, Tony had been with many girls before Pepper, but they'd just been one night stands. They meant nothing. But Pepper... Pepper meant the world to him. He'd choose her life over his. He had never felt this way about another person, and probably never would with anybody else.

As it got darker, Tony brought Pepper to a beautiful garden, filled with hundreds of varieties of flowers. He led her down a cobblestone path, and stopped in front of a gorgeous fountain. He sat her down on it's ledge and held her hands. The sun had set and they were seeing by moonlight. There were flowers surrounding them and the air was crisp and fresh. People walked in the distance, most of them probably heading home. A bird cawed in a nearby tree.

"Tony- it's beautiful." she whispered.

She took in her stunning surroundings in awe. Tony simply watched her.

"You're beautiful." he said, almost inaudible.

Pepper looked down, smiling. She looked back up at him and he was still watching her.

"Today's been so wonderful." Pepper said quietly.

"You're so wonderful." Tony said insistently.

Pepper blushed and looked away. When she looked back at Tony, he was still staring at her.

"Stop that." Pepper said, embarrassed.

"Stop what?" Tony said innocently.

"Looking at me like that."

"I can't help it; you're so perfect."

Pepper didn't know what to say so she turned away.

"Come here." Tony said.

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her into him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he leaned his head against hers. With one arm he held her in, and with the other he held her hand. Pepper let her free hand rest on his thigh.

"I love you." she said quietly.

"I love you more." he said teasingly.

Pepper laughed a little.

"I can't believe I'm dating Tony Stark." Pepper said.

"Why? Is it a bad thing?" Tony questioned.

"No, no it's just- I was always just your assistant. I was there to help you. I kept you in line. You know, I was the one who had to help out the girls you slept with and now- now it's different."

"You still do keep me in line. Thank god for that."

Pepper laughed. "I'm glad you've changed your ways."

"Me too."

They sat together for along time.

"Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Hm?"

"I have something to ask you."

"What?"

Tony pulled away from her and stood up directly in front of her.

"Um, I've waited a long time to say this but..." Tony looked around nervously.

"Yes?" Pepper said.

Tony took her hands in his. He knelt down on one knee and Pepper gasped.

"Pepper... I cannot begin to tell you how much I love you. You are my everything. My sun, my moon, my stars, my everything. You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever met. If you ever left me I'd be nothing because you complete me. I love you so much."

Pepper was overcome with joy.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Tony continued. "I want to wake up every morning and see you and only you. I want to hold you and protect you and just be with you. If you ever got hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself. I need to spend the rest of my life with you. So let's grow old together. You and I together. I love you so much."

Tony pulled his hands away from Pepper's and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small black case and held it up in front of him. He opened it up slowly. Inside was a sparkling diamond ring. Pepper held back tears of happiness. She covered her mouth with her hands.

"Pepper Potts," Tony said, staring directly into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Pepper paused for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Yes, yes, of course!" She announced excitedly.

Tony grinned. He slipped the ring on her fourth finger quickly and grabbed her. He lifted her up and spun her around. Tony placed her back on the ground and held her face. He pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Pepper's heart was racing at the speed of light. His lips melted into hers. She could barely hold herself up. Luckily, Tony had no problem supporting her.

As they walked back to the limo, the park was nearly empty.

"Mrs. Tony Stark." Tony teased.

"Shut up." Pepper rolled her eyes.

On the drive home, Pepper fell asleep with her head on Tony's lap. He easily carried her into the building once the got there.


	3. Chapter 3

When Pepper woke up, Tony was still asleep in their massive king bed. A lot of her life was unnecessary living with Tony. She needed to take care of him though; and he needed to take care of her. She rolled over in bed, blindly reaching for her blackberry. She read the screen: 43 new messages. She groaned. She put the phone back down and rolled into Tony. He smelled like cologne and sweat. Pepper buried her face in his black cotton t-shirt and he turned into her a little. Sometimes she wished that she could just stay in bed with him forever.

Pepper woke up a few hours later.

"Shit" she whispered to herself.

Tony was still sleeping but Pepper climbed out of bed. Wearing only a white shirt of Tony's, she walked sluggishly to Tony's side of the bed.

"Tony, it's noon." She grumbled.

Tony's left eye opened.

"Pepper I want to sleep." Tony argued. He shut his eyes.

"Up!"

Pepper pulled the blankets off of Tony. He was wearing white briefs and a black t-shirt. Pepper felt her heart flutter a little but dismissed it.

"Peeeppeeerr." Tony whined.

"Tony, I-"

Tony grabbed Pepper's waist and pulled her into bed. Pepper couldn't even try to struggle, Tony was just so strong. Pepper sighed and succumbed to him. He wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her small figure towards him. Pepper put her hands on his chest, feeling the arc reactor. She looked up at him, trying to look disappointed, but couldn't do it. She kissed him hard on the lips.

"Oh Iron Man." Pepper said as she pulled back.

She pushed her lips against his. Never breaking the kiss, Tony rolled her onto her back. He held her as if she was going to break at his fingertips, a piece of fine china. Pepper's fingers traced the outline of his muscular body, feeling every ab, bicep and quad. Tony's hands combed through her soft, orange hair pulling her face even closer to his. She pulled off his t-shirt and pulled down his briefs until they were both naked. Tony pulled his face away from hers just long enough to look at her and smirk. Pepper giggled and pulled him back again. His hand carefully felt her jaw line. His hand carefully trailed down her neck to her shoulders. He ran his fingertips down the arch of her back, causing her to tremble ever so slightly. Every ounce of him was trying to get as close as possible to Pepper. All he wanted was her.

Hours later, they lay together panting.

"Well," Pepper said in between breaths. "I guess today's a day off."

"I guess so, sweetheart." Tony said and pulled her in for one more kiss. "What do you say I take my Fiancée out for a nice dinner?"

"That sounds lovely." Pepper replied.

Pepper finally got out of bed to go get ready. She had a long shower, and then carefully blow dried her hair. She styled her ginger hair in loose curls and carefully applied her makeup. After a long time, she finally decided to wear a beautiful short green dress that showed off her legs. She put on a pair of black stilettos and left her closet.

Tony was sitting on a stool in the kitchen. When he saw Pepper he almost fell off trying to stand up. He regained his balance and stared in awe at the woman before him.

"Virginia..." Tony sighed. "You look stunning." He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Pepper's cheeks turned a bright fuchsia. Tony was wearing a black suit and Pepper couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. Pepper could see the faint outline of the arc reactor under his shirt. Tony bit his lip in excitement.

"Did you book a reservation?" Pepper asked in the limousine ride to the restaurant.

"Of course." Tony assured her.

The whole drive there, Tony could not keep his eyes off of Pepper. She was a beautiful woman, even when she had no makeup on and her hair was a mess, but tonight... had she always been this gorgeous?

Tony hurriedly opened the car door for her. He escorted her into the italian restaurant. They were seated at a table for two in the back corner. They both had a fantastic time, and Pepper didn't mind showing off her gorgeous engagement ring.

On the ride home, Pepper and Tony spent a lot of their time kissing. Tony pulled Pepper onto his lap and held her. Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck. Both of their breaths smelled like wine but it was kind of nice. They embraced tightly; his mouth tasting hers.

They were both still a little drunk by the time they got home.

"Pepper!" Tony called.

"Mmhm?" Pepper replied.

"Come here."

Tony got closer to Pepper until he was only about three inches away from her face.

"I'm here." she whispered.

"I need to tell you something." Tony mumbled.

"Yes, Tony?"

"You are the most beautiful girl in the world." Tony whispered.

"You're just saying that." Pepper smiled.

"No, it's true!" Tony insisted. "I swear!

"Well thank you Tony." Pepper said.

Tony easily picked up Pepper and carried her to the couch. They took off their clothes until they were in their underwear and quickly fell asleep in each other's arms.


End file.
